WiBro, a wireless broadband technology with downlink connection speeds of about 100Mbps - fast enough for it to be widely considered as the beginning of the fourth-generation (4G) era - will debut in Korea next month.
This announcement was made today, on the first day of SEK 2006 (the Solutions and Contents Exhibition of Korea), by Samsung's VP of global marketing, Hung Kwon Song.
As a board member of the WiMax Forum, Samsung has been closely involved with Korea Telecom and SK Telecom in pioneering the technology.
"We have been working on it for five years," he said.
On the eve of the world's first 4G commercial roll-out, Song explained that next month will herald a new era in cellular connectivity.
"People are hungry for mobility and speed - now just imagine what connection speeds of 100Mbps will mean."
He explained that WiBro is - strictly speaking - a brand name, standing for Korean Wireless Broadband Access Service. WiBro is based on mobile WiMax technology.
WiBro should be released in certain parts of Europe at the beginning of next year, he noted.
Asked to indicate in which of Korea's 84 cities WiBro would be available, Song declined to comment directly, saying: "It's up to SK Telecom and Korea Telecom as to the degree of coverage of the service."
Samsung unveiled its PDA-type WiBro phones, SPH-H1000 and SPH-M8000, in December last year.
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